Domaine Dujac Clos de la Roche Grand Cru 2020 750ml

A 2020 grand cru the critics agree on in one respect: it is not ready yet.

Domaine Dujac owns 1.95 hectares of Clos de la Roche, the grand cru that runs from the village of Morey-Saint-Denis north toward Gevrey-Chambertin. The holding is spread over five of the vineyard’s climats, among them Les Froichots, Les Fremières, Monts Luisants and Les Chabiots. The vines face east at 276–308 metres, in red-brown soil full of limestone fragments over Premeaux and Comblanchien limestone. Only Ponsot owns more of the vineyard, according to Enoteca, Dujac’s importer in Japan.

Jacques Seysses bought the old Domaine Graillet in 1968 and renamed it Dujac; his sons Jeremy and Alec now run it. The estate has been certified organic since 2011. Grapes go into the vat with little or no destemming, depending on the year, and ferment on their own yeasts. Jeremy Seysses puts the difference between his two Morey grands crus simply: Clos de la Roche leans toward fruit, stone and spice, with a little more grain to the tannin; Clos Saint-Denis toward fruit and flowers.

2020 was hot and dry. John Gilman reports that Dujac picked between 19 and 27 August, with the team in the vines from 6:30 and finished by 12:30 each day to keep the fruit cool, and that red yields were low after drought and heat. He expects the 2020s here to need long bottle age, and would not be surprised to see them follow the path of the domaine’s 1993s.

In the glass

In bottle, William Kelley (Wine Advocate, Jan 2023, 96+) found cassis, dark berries and plum with spice and vine smoke, framed by powdery tannin and lively acidity: serious, structured, and a wine that will reward patience. Neal Martin (Vinous, Jan 2023, 95) found darker fruit than in Dujac’s Clos Saint-Denis, with kirsch and orange rind, and expects it to close down for a few years. Allen Meadows (Burghound, Jan 2023, 95) found it more floral than the Clos Saint-Denis, powerful and muscular, with coffee and bitter cherry on a long finish.

When to open

Vinous gives a drinking window of 2028–2050; Wine Advocate, 2033–2065; Burghound, 2038 onward. Opened young, expect a firm, closed wine.

At the table

Our suggestion, not the domaine’s: roast pigeon, or a rib of beef cooked simply.

Quick facts

Provenance

Sourced from the Japanese importer.

Sources: Domaine Dujac; Enoteca; INAO; The Sorting Table; Jeremy Seysses via Wine-Searcher (2022); John Gilman, View from the Cellar no. 96; Wine Advocate (W. Kelley); Vinous (N. Martin); Burghound (A. Meadows).